The Bet
by Earth2Kim
Summary: Devon has been thawed, Danziger decides its finally time to tell her something.


Originally posted Sun, 28 Mar 1999 to Earth2-Fanfiction@onelist.com (before eGroups bought it, before Yahoo!Groups bought that!)  
  
Disclaimer: This was, I believe, my very first piece of fanfic, and a cheesy one at that. But still fun. NBC Universal owns all the characters of Earth 2, and hasn't done much with them recently... unfortunately!  
  
Timeline: This story takes place after All About Eve, and assumes that Eden Advance found a way to bring Devon out of her cryo-chamber.  
  
* * *   
  
The Bet by Earth2Kim  
  
"This love will open our world. From the dark side we can see the glow of something bright. Oh, there's much more then we see here." -Dave Matthews Band  
  
* * * *  
  
John Danziger was not paying attention to what he was doing. He lay under the TransRover, tool in hand, adjusting and readjusting the same mechanism. His mind was instead elsewhere, lost in the thought of the task he was determined to accomplish. It was just the previous night that he had convinced himself he was going to go through with it this time...   
  
He was going to tell her. He just had to wait for the right time.  
  
It was then that Danziger saw her emerge from the Med Tent.  
  
Devon Adair walked through the temporary camp of Eden Advance, heading towards her own tent. She casually glanced around to make sure everyone was doing what they were assigned. ~Not that there is much to do,~ she thought. It had been an easy traveling day, and besides, the group certainly deserved some relaxing days after what they had gone through to get her out of cold sleep.  
  
The kids had gone off with Zero to collect firewood, but she knew they would end up playing by the small creek they had camped nearby. Alonzo, Bess, Cameron, and Morgan were sitting in the shade of a large tree supposedly looking over the next day's route and counting supplies, but instead looked like they were leisurely passing the time discussing the weather and the scenery, and joking about something.  
  
Devon looked around for the rest of the group. She had left Julia in the tent behind her. Magus and Walman had gone for a walk (a small smile crossed her mouth at that thought), but, where was John? Devon turned to scan the area where the vehicles were parked for him.  
  
Danziger had ducked back under the TransRover when he saw her look his way. He had to appear as if he was making some sort of progress, even if that was the farthest thing from the truth.  
  
Sure enough, Devon spotted the telltale pile of tools and caught a glimpse of a red vest and curly, blond hair in the shade of the TransRover. Satisfied, she continued into her tent.  
  
Danziger waited a few moments before he stood up. He brushed the dust off of himself, took in a deep breath, and made his way over to the Adair tent. He knocked on the canvas beside the opened flap.  
  
"Devon, can I talk to you for a second?"  
  
"Sure, John, come on in," came the reply from inside.  
  
He ducked low to get his large frame through the entrance. Devon stood up from where she was kneeled by a cargo trunk.  
  
"What can I help you with?" She gave a slight smile as she spoke.  
  
It made Danziger even more nervous.  
  
"I'm, uh, going to get right to the point." His tone was serious, Devon could tell. Her smile faded and she looked at him with partial concern and interest.  
  
"Of course. Do you want to sit?" She motioned towards a cot.  
  
"No, I'm, uh, fine." Danziger took in another deep breath, and began very slowly, looking her straight into the eyes.  
  
"Devon. When you got sick, and we had to put you into cryo-sleep..." He looked to her for reassurance and she nodded to continue. "... We felt like we were losing not only our leader, but also our best friend." He paused and waited for that to sink in.  
  
~Dammit,~ he thought, ~I should have practiced this...~  
  
"But, for me," he continued, "it was something different. It wasn't until many weeks after that, and right before Julia found the cure for you, when I realized what it was."  
  
He looked at her with that deep stare of his, and Devon could actually hear her heart racing in her chest. She wasn't at all prepared for this. Especially not what was to come next.  
  
"Devon, I think I... love you. "  
  
The silence that followed was deafening. Devon was too stunned to speak. She hadn't seen this coming at all. Sure, there had been times in the past, especially those when she herself had almost said the exact same thing, before she stopped herself. Yes, she realized, she had almost said the same words to him. She was shocked at that revelation.  
  
Danziger, however, took her silence to mean that she didn't return the feelings he had just shared. It was a gamble going in, and he knew that, but he had hoped he had seen the truth in those few instances when they had struggled together and had triumphed, like the time when they had gone for water. ~Apparently,~ he thought, ~I was wrong.~  
  
"I'm -- I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said anything," Danziger mumbled as he turned to exit the tent. It took a moment for Devon's senses to come back to her. Quickly, she collected herself and ran after him, catching up a step outside her tent.  
  
"Dammit, John, wait." He stopped and turned back to her with his head towards the ground, unable to face her.  
  
Devon did the only thing she could think of.  
  
She grabbed his arm and pulled his face down to her level, then pressed her lips against his.  
  
Sparks flew.  
  
After what seemed like an eternity, they parted, both awkwardly becoming aware of the environment around them. It was quiet, and they knew why.  
  
*  
  
"Oh my God..."  
  
"Well, would you look at that."  
  
"I can't believe it!"  
  
*  
  
Devon latched on to Danziger's hand and pulled him back towards her tent so they could continue their discussion with some semblance of privacy. Right before he entered after her, he gave a shrug towards the group under the tree, then ducked inside.  
  
*  
  
"Didn't I tell you?"  
  
Alonzo turned to Cameron, "Hey man, you lost, fork it over." He held out his hand. Grudgingly, Cameron rummaged around in a nearby trunk and pulled out a wrapped bar of chocolate and handed it to Alonzo.  
  
"Yeah, well," Cameron spoke, "you're still not going to win on the Magus/Walman front. I plan on having a say in that, if you know what I mean."  
  
Alonzo grinned at him.  
  
* * *  
  
But that's... another story. 


End file.
